USA, Australia and Canada Qualify for the Super Finals

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., July 16. TEAM USA went 5-0 at the FINA World League Semifinals in Los Alamitos, Calif. During the final match against rival Australia, USA won in the final 37 seconds with a goal from Natalie Golda to capture a 12-11 victory. Australia and Canada also qualified for the Super Finals. Canada defeated Brazil, 14-4, to qualify. The additional three teams to qualify for the Super Finals will be determined at the commencement of the Semifinals that will conclude in Kirishi, Russia on July 17.

"I thought our front court offense was pretty good, we really had trouble on our 6-on-5's, but it's a good thing that we scored on the last goal by Heather Petri,” Team USA head coach Guy Baker said. “This tournament was really our second true tournament so I can't really complain. This was a good game, we kept trading goals with them, it was kind of like pin-ball water polo. I thought we kept our composure throughout the whole game, we really played two good teams in Canada and Australia."

Suzie Fraser (AUS) put the Australians up by two goals midway through the third quarter, but 30 seconds later USA Team Captain Brenda Villa answered. The U.S. kept up the momentum, matching the Aussies goal for goal until the final minute of play when Golda cemented the lead and the win for USA, 12-11.

Ericka Lorenz earned MVP honors of the tournament. Australia’s Kate Gynther was the top scorer and Rachel Riddell (CAN) received top goalkeeper honors.

"This award is really a surprise to me,” Lorenz said. “Really, yesterday against Canada was our first tough game, but today's game was a battle. I think right now, we are doing all of the right things, we just need to polish up some things here and there and finish our 6-on-5 shots."

FINAL POINTS:
USA 15
CAN 11
AUS 10
BRA 6
NZL 3
CHN 0

BOX SCORES:
USA – 2 3 5 2 – 12
AUS – 2 4 4 1 – 11

INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
USA – H. Petri 2, E. Lorenz 2, B. Villa 1, L. Wenger 2, N. Golda 2, P. Cardenas 2, M Van Norman 1
AUS – S. Smith 1, R. Rippon 3, S. Fraser 2, B. Knox 1, K. Gynther 3, M. Santoromito 1

GOALIE SAVES:
USA – E. Armstrong 5
AUS – A. McCormack 4

PLAYER ADVANTAGE:
USA – 3 of 8
AUS – 5 of 5

CAN – 3 2 4 5 – 14
BRA – 1 0 3 0 – 4

INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
CAN – S. Lize 1, S. Gardiner 1, J. Bekhazi 1, W. Genoway 1, R. Tomiuk 1, D. Perrault 2, A. Braden 2, C. Robinson 1, V. Dionne 1, M. Radu 3, W. Lamarre 2
BRA – A. Vasconcelos 1, M. Canetti 2, A. Henriques 1

GOALIE SAVES:
CAN – R. Riddell 5
BRA – T. Oliveira 7

PLAYER ADVANTAGE:
CAN – 4 of 5
BRA – 3 of 7

NZL – 3 2 2 3 – 10
CHN – 4 1 2 2 – 9

INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
NZL – Rebecca Donoghue 1, Amy Logan 1, R. McGuiness 3, Anna Sieprath 1, K. Mason 2, Kirsten Hudson 1, Kimberley Sumich 1
CHN – F. Teng 2, Ping Liu 1, Y. Sun 2, J. He 2, F. Mo 1, A. Gao 1

GOALIE SAVES:
NZL – C. Harache 4
CHN – J. Yung 9

PLAYER ADVANTAGE:
NZL – 6 of 16
CHN – 5 of 13

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use